{"id":806635,"date":"2020-04-21T15:48:54","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T21:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=382020"},"modified":"2020-04-22T08:24:39","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T14:24:39","slug":"colorado-avalanche-information-center-releases-final-report-on-fatal-slide-near-silverthorne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/colorado-avalanche-information-center-releases-final-report-on-fatal-slide-near-silverthorne\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Avalanche Information Center releases final report on fatal slide near Silverthorne"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/8ozhiruqiorv9aedmux7kxjtarlv.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/8ozhiruqiorv9aedmux7kxjtarlv.png 720w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/8ozhiruqiorv9aedmux7kxjtarlv-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"><figcaption><strong>A backcountry skier was killed in an avalanche April 15 on Red Peak in the Gore Range north of Silverthorne.<\/strong><br \/><em>Photo by Greg Hansen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>SILVERTHORNE \u2014 The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has published its final report on the avalanche that killed <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Denver resident Aaron Wiener (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/identity-cause-of-death-released-in-red-peak-avalanche-fatality\/\">Denver resident Aaron Wiener<\/a> near Silverthorne last week, offering new details about what might have lead to the tragic slide. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On the afternoon of April 15, Wiener, 30, was skiing with two others on the north face of Red Peak, north of Silverthorne, before a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"skier-triggered avalanche carried him down the couloir (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/skier-killed-in-avalanche-north-of-silverthorne\/\">skier-triggered avalanche carried him down the couloir<\/a>, leading to fatal injuries. On April 17, members of the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Summit County Rescue Team recovered him (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-county-rescue-group-recovers-skier-who-died-in-avalanche-on-red-peak-north-of-silverthorne\/\">Summit County Rescue Team recovered his body<\/a> from the site of the accident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of these events have different aspects to them, and there\u2019s always some common themes,\u201d Colorado Avalanche Information Center Director Ethan Greene said. \u201cWhat happened in this case is these folks triggered and got caught in a pretty small avalanche in a really dangerous place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The skiers took off from the Willow Creek trailhead at about 8 a.m. and ascended the southeast face of the slope to the summit, stopping to check for signs of instability along the way.&nbsp;They descended on the north side of the peak to the top of the Oh What Big Eyes You Have couloir, where they planned to make their way back down.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/sdn-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The skiers discussed concerns about firm slabs of wind-drifted snow in the path, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/avalanche.state.co.us\/caic\/acc\/acc_report.php?acc_id=757&amp;accfm=inv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">center\u2019s report<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>. They decided to head down one at a time and meet back up at the bottom. Wiener made his way down first and stopped to wait in a break in the cliff wall on the skier\u2019s right of the couloir. A second skier joined him soon after.<\/p>\n<p>The third skier began making his way down the same path minutes later but triggered an avalanche that broke off just below his skis, sending a 100-foot-wide slide down the couloir. The break was 8-10 inches deep, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>The second skier was carried about 70 feet down where he came to a rest with his skis against a rock wall. He was uninjured, and he regrouped with the other skier to look for Wiener. The skiers picked up a signal from Wiener\u2019s avalanche transceiver about 1,600 feet down the couloir but discovered that he didn\u2019t survive the slide.<\/p>\n<p>The skiers were able to contact the rescue team via text message.<\/p>\n<p>Wiener was not buried. The cause of his death was multiple blunt force trauma injuries, according to Summit County Coroner Regan Wood.<\/p>\n<p>Forecasters noted the avalanche was small relative to the path \u2014 classified as a D2 avalanche, a scale out of five that measures destructive potential. The path the avalanche took down the rock-walled couloir was deemed the most significant factor in the severity of Wiener\u2019s injuries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith a similar avalanche in much gentler terrain, you can always be hurt in these slides, but it would have been hard to get killed,\u201d Greene said. \u201cIt\u2019s really having the slide in that specific terrain that lead to this really unfortunate outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The avalanche broke at the interface between new and old snow layers, according to the center\u2019s report. Greene said avalanches of this nature are common in the springtime, when the snowpack melts during the day and freezes at night, creating a firm surface.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this apex we\u2019re at now, where we\u2019re moving into spring conditions but still have snowstorms coming in on top of that, we end up with a really firm surface,\u201d Greene said. \u201cAnd when we get new snow on top of that, we get back into having avalanche problems. Whether it\u2019s new snow from a storm or wind-loading, the new surface breaks and runs off the old surface. It doesn\u2019t take much snow for that to happen. In this particular case, we had about a foot of snow over a few days with some good wind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The area\u2019s avalanche danger is currently rated moderate, though officials are asking anyone heading into the backcountry to carefully pore over avalanche forecasts, which include information on snowpack, weather and what to expect at different elevations and bearings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEspecially during these spring transitions, you need to pay attention to what the snow is going to look like,\u201d Greene said. \u201cMake sure that you\u2019re considering not only your own risk but the societal risks if other people need to come and help you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/colorado-avalanche-information-center-releases-final-report-on-fatal-slide-near-silverthorne\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A backcountry skier was killed in an avalanche April 15 on Red Peak in the Gore Range north of Silverthorne.Photo by Greg Hansen SILVERTHORNE \u2014 The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has published its final report on the avalanche that killed Denver resident Aaron Wiener near Silverthorne last week, offering new details about what might have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806635","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-13 10:02:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806657,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806635\/revisions\/806657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}